On Wed, 2008-08-20 at 11:10 -0400, Helen wrote:

"The image dsc_0043.jpg has an embedded color profile. sRGB.
convert the image to the RGB working space?"

What does this mean? What did I do to cause it? Is it something important that I need to deal with?

You didn't cause it. The tool used to create the image caused it, such as a camera or scanner.

The message means that the image file has some information in it that describes the device that it came from. By converting it to GIMPs working color space you can accurately see what the image colors look like as it was recorded by that device. This assumes you have a monitor profile correctly set for your monitor, however.

In general, if you don't know about color profiles you can just say "yes" to convert it and then forget about it. Profiles are only relevant to those who are keenly interested in exact color reproduction between an input device (camera, scanner, etc.) and an output device (monitor, printer, etc.). The average person at home probably won't notice much or probably care that much if the colors are a little off.

If you want to learn more about color profiles you can start with the Color Management section of the Preferences dialog. Profiles are a way of making sure the color reproduction is accurate from the device that acquires the image to the tool that edits the image to the device that outputs the image. The accuracy suffers without color profiles because color is a function of heat (I'm simplifying greatly here) and you have to understand the devices that input or output the image to make sure they are doing it the same way.

I'm actually writing an article about this topic (and printing in general with Linux and GIMP) for Linux Format magazine at the moment for issue 112 (not sure when that comes out). Linux Format is a UK magazine and the US gets copies a couple months after they print in the UK.

Hope that helps.